In a thrilling encounter on April 12, 2025, Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH), under the leadership of Pat Cummins, pulled off an epic victory by chasing down a massive target of 246 runs to beat Punjab Kings (PBKS) by 8 wickets in match 27 of IPL 2025. The match was held at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium, and it was a nail-biting finish that will go down in IPL history.
Punjab Kings won the toss and decided to bat first, and it was a decision that initially looked spot on. Shreyas Iyer’s explosive knock of 82 off 36 balls was the highlight of their innings. Along with him, Prabhsimran Singh (42 off 23), Marcus Stoinis (34* off 11), Priyansh Arya (36 off 13), and Nehal Wadhera (27 off 22) helped PBKS post a daunting total of 245/6 in their 20 overs.
However, PBKS had no answer to Abhishek Sharma’s sensational knock. The SRH batter played a devastating inning, scoring 141 runs off just 58 balls, taking the game away from PBKS. This knock not only led SRH to one of the highest successful chases in IPL history but also made Abhishek the third player this season to score a century and the second from SRH. His innings featured 6 fours and a massive 11 sixes, proving to be the game-changer.
It was also a night to forget for PBKS’s Mohammed Shami, who set an unwanted record for the most expensive spell bowled by an Indian in IPL history. Shami gave away 75 runs in his 4 overs, which included 14 runs in his opening over, where he was hammered for three consecutive boundaries by Prabhsimran Singh. His figures of 0/75 were the second-worst in IPL history, just behind Jofra Archer’s disastrous 0/76.
Despite the huge total, SRH’s chase was led by Travis Head (66 off 37), whose partnership with Abhishek Sharma set the tone for the chase. Abhishek, after Head’s dismissal, completed his century and continued to score with such authority that PBKS couldn’t recover. His 141-run innings is now the third-highest individual score in IPL history, with only Chris Gayle’s 175 and Brendon McCullum’s 158 ahead of him.
After Abhishek’s departure, Heinrich Klaasen and Ishan Kishan took over the chase and completed the target with 9 balls to spare, ensuring a comfortable victory for SRH. This victory not only sealed SRH’s second-highest successful chase but also left PBKS wondering what went wrong despite putting up such a big total. SRH’s chase will be remembered as one of the most memorable moments in IPL history.
